When a subscriber joins your list you should start by welcoming them with a singular email or series of welcome emails. This often neglected communication is the most important step in the email journey with your lead. 

The first welcome email open rate can be as high as 57.8% according to Experian research. For our multifamily clients, it is not uncommon to see this number be between 60% and 70%.

A successful ‘Welcome’ Email should:

• Deliver the offer or content promised from where they opted in. Your lead saw a popup on your website promising an exclusive offer. Give them this offer in the email! 
• Have a simplified call-to-action. Deciding where to live and moving can be stressful. Keep the next steps simple and use a short, concise message in your first communication. 
• Showcase your brand tone and voice! Let the prospect get to know the property. Your design and copy should match the community’s tone and voice.

At 30 Lines, we approach email campaigns with three key steps:

1. Define Your Goal
2. Measure and Report
3. Learn and Optimize

Step 1: Define Your Goal

Before you begin your welcome series, define the objective and goal. Ask yourself, “What is the job of the email?” 

Explore our list of content ideas that you can highlight in your emails for a spark of inspiration. For this example, let’s use the goal of scheduling a tour.

 A virtual tour is a compelling piece of content to include in the first email of your series. It can have an immediate payoff, driving engagement and click-through to your website. The first email should focus on the tour and introducing the leasing staff. When you collected the prospect’s email address, if they asked for information on leasing specials or incentives, include this in the message.

Following the welcome message, consider adding emails with a singular focus and messaging that drives the lead to take a tour. Each email in the series should nudge them closer to that overall goal. Emails with content on amenities and floor plans reinforce the overall goal while building rapport with the lead. This is called lead nurturing.

We recommend our clients include an email in their series about the property’s neighborhood, the community’s events, or even sister properties. Also consider reusing content you are already creating for other channels such as social media. Leverage the great content from Instagram and Facebook to show off your community’s personality. 

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Step 2: Measure and Report

For baseline measurement of success we are looking at the following key data points:

Unique Open Rate. Unique number of opens and delivered emails. Unique opens is important to understand the context of “how many” leads saw your message. Total opens relates to “how frequently” your audience viewed your message. 

Delivered Emails. The quantity of emails that made it to the inbox. Emails can often be miskeyed, it is not uncommon to mistype an email or for an inbox to be full and unable to receive an additional emails.

Click-through Rate (CTR). Unique clicks and Delivered Emails. Unique clicks again refers to “how many” vs “how frequently” people clicked on a link in your email.

Conversion. When a visitor completes a desired action. This can be replying to the email or even just clicking through to your website.

These data points provide a baseline for what is working and what could be tested and optimized for the audience.

Step 3: Learn & Optimize

Set it, don’t forget it! Then test and continue to optimize!

Use your data to see the bigger picture. 

We commonly have clients ask for reporting and help understanding the performance of the tactics we launch. For our dashboard reporting, we focus on measures and metrics across digital channels to give us insight on our campaigns. 

Remember, a ‘measure’ is quantified by a number. e.g. Unique Open Rate: 54%

A ‘metric’ gives you a closer look behind the scenes because it compares the measure to another data point. e.g. 50% Unique Open rate with a 5% increase year over year.

The metric provides the context of what is working and what can be tested and then optimized. Don’t just test, use your data to make informed changes to your campaigns.

Learn more about metrics and how to better understand your reports in our blog about Buddy Metrics.

We have used data over periods of time to discover the best email campaign tactics. One of our biggest findings is seasonality and its influence on a buyer.

Seasonality is a driver of content. Including an amenity like a pool in the subject line during the summer months sets you apart in the inbox. Even better if you can pull in an emoji or too. We love using an emoji to stand out in the inbox! 💙 💯